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Walk outside breath in the air and tell me this isn’t the beginning of April instead of the beginning of May! I know that’s what I was thinking! The fish too! Turn your clock back a month and that’s the best way to explain why the fishing is the way it is today.

The weather patterns that we have had this year have pushed back the calendar a whole month and the fish are responding as if it was the beginning of April not May. That’s OK because if you haven’t had a chance to get out on the water recently then you still have time to take advantage of mild conditions and the Spring Migration. Fishing has been very good to say the least with the one exception being in Flamingo. I say that about Flamingo with a hesitation in my voice because all we need for Flamingo to take off is a few days of calm conditions and winds from the east. Recent strong winds from the northeast and east have been good for the Miami areas but not so much for Flamingo where water conditions have been very rough and dirty.

Fishing out of Miami has been very good even if the weather at times has not. I have had an opportunity to fish with my family quite a bit and also filled in the free days with charters to fill the week. Air temperatures have risen and during the past weeks we have had winds from the south to east at 10 to as much as 25 miles per hour so we have had to get creative in finding waters that will give us enough protection to fish and still be comfortable. Thankfully I have been fishing the areas that I fish enough to know where those spots are.

Fishing in North Biscayne Bay has produced great catches of Sea Trout to over four pounds on live pilchards suspended from a Cajun Thunder floats, on Hookup lures tipped with a three or four inch Gulp shrimp and on Rapala Twitchin Raps, Clackin Raps and X Raps. Just about every grass flat we have fished has produced goods numbers of sea trout. Lots of Barracudas are available and at times have proven to be a nuisance when casting live pilchards at schools of Snook that I have found in Biscayne Bay on recent trips. Schools of bluefish and Spanish mackerel have eaten our live pilchards as fast as we could get a bait in the water. Large Jack Crevalles up to 20 pounds have been chasing baitfish schools near the Ocean inlets and out in the ocean. Mangrove Snappers are finding the warmer water conditions more to their liking and we are catching them throughout the Bay. Gag Groupers have been eating our live baits and then breaking us off in the rocks but we have managed to land a few and then released them unharmed like the Snook we have been catching but now we can keep the legalized Groupers. We have had a few days when weather conditions have allowed us to get offshore and the fishing has been outstanding. April is known for large spawning Kingfish, the biggest Dolphins of the year, Blackfin Tunas, Cobia, large Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish and big spawning Amberjacks on the wrecks and some of that fishing has been available this past week but much of it is still to come. On recent trips we have had nice Mutton snappers that ate live pilchards on the bottom, Gag groupers, big jack Crevalles, Amberjacks and Almoco Jacks over 30 pounds, chased schools of small Blackfin Tunas and then hooked and lost a few on Rapala X Raps, large Spanish Mackerel, huge Barracudas, Kingfish, giant Bluerunners but no dolphins.

Fishing in Flamingo has been as good as the weather. Catch a good weather day, especially if the weather has been nice for a few days and the fishing has been very good for Sea Trout, redfish, a few snook, some Cobia and Tarpon and of course lots of Ladyfish, Jacks and Mangrove Snappers.

Check out the pictures I have added to this report to see some of the recent catches.

Give me a call and let’s get out on the water while the fish are here and eating. Then you can see your face with a big smile in my photo album as you hold your special catch.

I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at Columbia Sportswear Company | Select Site

I expect the fishing to be pretty consistent for the next three or four months with lots of SEA TROUT, JACK CREVALLES, LADYFISH, SPANISH MACKEREL, BLUEFISH, GROUPER, BARRACUDAS, SNOOK, TARPON and some POMPANO in NORTH BISCAYNE BAY and OFFSHORE of MIAMI KINGFISH, MACKEREL, SAILFISH and DOLPHINS available on the calmer days and in SOUTH BISCAYNE BAY lots of action from a wide variety of fish like the SNAPPERS, GROUPERS, JACKS, BLUEFISH, MACKERELS, POMPANO, LADYFISH, PORGIES, GRUNTS, SNOOK and BLUERUNNERS keeping anglers busy catching and releasing fish most of the day. FLAMINGO in EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK will have a huge amount of wildlife like the WHITE PELICANS, ROSEATTE SPOONBILLS, SKIMMER BIRDS,GULLS, OSPREYS, EAGLES, TERNS, EGRETS, HERONS, ALLIGATORS, CROCODILES, BOTTLE NOSED DOLPHINS, MANATTEES, SHARKS and TURTLES and of course the wide variety of fish that migrate into FLORIDA BAY and the GULF waters during the cooler months of the year. SNOOK, TARPON, REDFISH, SEA TROUT, SHEEPSHEAD, TRIIPLETAIL, BLACK DRUM, SNAPPER, GOLIATH AND GAG GROUPER, POMOPANO, COBIA, MACKEREL, BLUEFISH and I'm sure I am leaving a few other fish species out will be available to all anglers at one time or another through the Spring Fishing Season.